As of: 09/22/2022 9:47 p.m
Apparently he did not want to face the accusations of the other chief diplomats: Russia’s Foreign Minister Lavrov only sat down today for his speech in the round of the UN Security Council. There was no progress in the Ukraine war.
Ukraine and Western partners have exchanged heated blows with Russia in the United Nations Security Council. The Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov met for the first time since the beginning of the war in the most powerful UN body in New York. Russia invaded Ukraine at the end of February.
Lavrov repeated Moscow’s accusations against Ukraine, accusing the West of directly interfering in the war by supplying arms and other support to Kyiv. “We have no doubt that Ukraine has become a totally totalitarian Nazi-like state, where the norms of international humanitarian law are flouted,” Moscow’s chief diplomat said.
Lavrov: Threat to Russia
The position of those states “that are pumping weapons into Ukraine and training its soldiers” is particularly cynical, he added. The aim of this support is obviously to “delay the fighting for as long as possible, despite the victims and the destruction”.
“This policy of wearing down and weakening Russia means the West’s direct interference in the conflict and makes it a party to the conflict,” Lavrov complained about the arms deliveries to Ukraine. Crimes by the government of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy are being covered up by the West along the lines of “Zelenskyy may be a bastard, but he’s our bastard,” he raged.
The decision to launch a “special military operation” against Ukraine was unavoidable. The country is a threat to Russia’s security. “And I can assure you that we will never accept this,” he said. Lavrov only partially attended the eagerly awaited meeting. He only appeared for his own speech and then disappeared again immediately. The rest of the time he was represented by his deputy Sergei Werschinin.
“Extraordinary Level of Lies”
The Ukrainian Kuleba reacted with mockery and said: “I also noticed today that Russian diplomats are fleeing just like Russian soldiers.” He accused Moscow of serious war crimes. In view of recent military setbacks for Moscow, Kuleba interpreted the partial mobilization of the Russian army as an admission of defeat. Addressing Russia, he said: “You can draft 300,000 or 500,000 people, but you will never win this war.”
According to his assessment, Russia has no interest in peace talks. “The Russian leadership is only looking for a military solution.” He accused Russian diplomats of an “extraordinary amount of lying”.
Putin threatened nuclear weapons
France holds the presidency of the Security Council this month and had convened the session over alleged war crimes in Ukraine. At the same time as the UN General Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced in the past few days that he would intensify his actions.
For example, he wants to have a vote on joining Russia in several occupied Ukrainian territories, which is internationally regarded as contrary to international law. He also announced the mobilization of 300,000 reservists and said that Russia would “use all available means” to protect itself – which was understood as a threat of nuclear weapons.
US wants further isolation of Russia
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for such “reckless nuclear threats” to stop immediately. The fact that Putin voted this week of all days “to further fuel the fire he started” shows his complete contempt for the United Nations. “The international order that we are gathered here to uphold is being shattered before our eyes. We cannot and will not allow President Putin to get away with it.”
He called for those responsible for alleged war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine to be punished. The Kremlin boss must be held accountable for the war of aggression and his country isolated. “If Russia stops fighting, the war will be over. If Ukraine stops fighting, Ukraine will be over,” Blinken said.
Baerbock: You can’t win
Germany’s chief diplomat, Annalena Baerbock, made a similar statement in her speech to the panel. Moscow is waging a war with war crimes, torture, rape. Addressing Russia, the foreign minister said: “This is a war you will not win.”
“End the suffering in Ukraine,” Baerbock said in New York. “Stop sending more of your own citizens to their deaths. Stop their sham referendums that are as illegitimate as the war they are supposed to legitimize. Stop the grain war that is fueling hunger around the world, especially in the South. ”
In her speech, Baerbock also addressed the announced partial mobilization in Russia. The most recent announcements by the Russian president have finally made it clear that Russia is not waging a “so-called special operation” in Ukraine, but a “war of aggression” with “war crimes, torture, rape, even of children.”
Guterres wants criminal prosecution
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also called Putin’s nuclear threats unacceptable. He saw the planned mock referendums in eastern Ukraine as a possible violation of international law. The war is moving “further steps away from any prospect of peace – and toward an endless cycle of horror and bloodshed,” he lamented.
He called for criminal prosecution for alleged war crimes by Russian troops in Ukraine. “The perpetrators must be held accountable in fair and independent trials.” The latest reports about the burial sites in the liberated city of Izyum are extremely worrying.
French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and representatives of Mexico, Norway, Albania and Ireland also demanded a full investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine and punishment for those responsible. The chief diplomats of China and India called for negotiations and dialogue – but without taking a clear stance against Russia.